Heart Of A Dragon
by Allotted Sylence
Summary: The epic story of Toothless and Hiccup, told through Hiccup's eyes. After they defeat the Red Death later in the story, there is yet another threat, that is BIGGER than the Red Death. And it is up to the pair to bring it down. T for blood/violence/peril
1. A New Start

**Heart of a Dragon**

**Chapter 1 - A New Start**

**"Story starts right after Hiccup tried to kill Toothless."**

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><p><strong>(Hiccup's POV)<strong>

. . . " I did this. . ."

I turned and was about to trudge home, but the guilt and ache I had felt were tremendous, and I could not explain the feeling that resided in my already aching heart. But the explicit message that it sent me was, "Free him." My mind tossed around this thought for a few moments, trying to decipher why it wanted me to free this dragon, my sworn enemy. And to add to this dilemma, it was a _Night Fury,_ the most powerful and mysterious dragon that we know of, and the one that took out all of our towers during _every_ dragon raid. But even with this knowledge of dragons, I could not shake that feeling about this dragon. When I stared into it's eyes, when I stared into it's _soul, _I did not see any anger, hate, or malice. I only saw fear, which is the same way that I felt, just _pure_ fear. And with that glance that lasted not even a second, one thought came to my mind, that would change my life forever.

_"What if everything we know about dragons, is wrong?"_

That thought made me question my whole view of dragons. That one thought made me think that maybe there was another side to the story, one that reflected dragons in a completely different manner. And so as I was thinking this, I looked down at the dagger in my hand, that moments ago I almost used to kill this magnificent dragon, and then looked at the dragon lying helpless and vulnerable on the ground. I had many options that I could of taken right then, I could have ran back to tell my dad, and bring him back to be known as the _first_ viking who has ever killed or seen a Night Fury. I could kill him right now, and put blood on my hands to prove my dad wrong if he questioned my story. Or I could free him. . . so that he could live to see another day, but I didn't trust him at all. I thought about him getting up and killing me _right_ when I cut the ropes off, then flying away like nothing ever happened. And yet, the more I had these conflicting thoughts, and the more I remembered my age-old knowledge of dragons and the way they are supposed to be, and the more I wanted to kill this dragon for fame and glory. . . the more I wanted to set him free. But along with me wanting to free him, I did not want to take the risk of being killed by this dragon, so I did not want to free him just yet.

I sat down next to his head, well away from his 'crisp me with fire' zone, and I actually started to talk with him, and. . it felt. . . good. He looked at me, and I started to speak.

"Hey. I know that you don't know me, *scoffs* or probably don't want to know me, but. . . I regret shooting you down." He looked at me with an interested, yet slightly relaxed position, and I continued, "And just a few moments ago, I wanted to kill you, but I only wanted to do that since I was taught that dragons are evil creatures that just attack us, and want our food. And I actually believed it. . . Well, you really can't blame me, since I was little, and anything that I learned, I believed. But, when I stared into your eyes, they told me a story, a story where us vikings are wrong, and that there is something _much_ bigger out there that is making all this take place. Anyway, I'm sorry for shooting you down, and I'm sorry for almost killing you, since I wasn't aware of how wrong us vikings were. So, I'm going to go ahead and cut these ropes off of you, and also, my name's Hiccup."

I stood up, and began to cut the ropes off of this Night Fury, as it just watched me with interested eyes. And once I had the last rope cut, which was the one around his neck, he jumped up, and tackled me to the ground. I was not at _all_ expecting that, but yet, it still took place, and I noticed that he was angry, but. . not as angry as he originally would have been. It was like he was upset for what I did to him, but yet, he had understanding, because of the reason that I had given him. He stared into my eyes _deeply, _as if he was searching my soul for the truth behind my story, and the more he stared at me, the more he showed less anger, and the more he relaxed. And once he was done, his anger was all but gone, but this doesn't mean that he trusts me, because, he doesn't even know _anything_ about me. . . Well, _except_ for the past 10 minutes.

He snorted, then he leaned in closer to me, sniffed my face, and I could of sworn I saw him crack a smile at the ends of his scaly lips. Then at that, he was off into the sky, where I thought that I would never see him again, let alone meet another Night Fury.

So after he left, I stood up and started to walk home, wondering about the events that had just taken place here, and I couldn't get that Night Fury out of my mind. But the main thing about him that I couldn't get out of my mind were those neon green eyes. Those eyes just, packed my thoughts, and made me wonder more about the Night Fury that I had met today. Those eyes just showed so many things,. . .they actually told a story. They told the story of his life up to a raid a few days ago, and in that fraction of time that I stared into them, which felt like an eternity to me, I realized that everything we know about these guys, every legend, fact, or story, is _wrong._ And, that facial expression. I could sense that he was hiding hate and anger, but once I explained to him why I did these things, and after he searched my soul, finding my story to be true, he relaxed and showed me a side that I would never expect to see in a dragon. . . at _all._

I saw love, understanding, friendship, compassion, and one that I _never_ even guessed - _Trust._ Even though these emotions were low, and almost unrecognizable, they were still residing in his eyes. This Night Fury really changed me, inside and out. I never again wanted to harm or fight dragons, since, thanks to the Fury's story-telling stare, everything we knew about dragons, were wrong, so I intended to treat dragons the _right_ way. But, there was a problem. . . I didn't _know_ what the _right_ way was. And the Night Fury couldn't tell me, because he's probably halfway to Tahiti by now, and I _do not_ want to even _think_ about approaching a dragon in the ring. But, the more I ignored it, the more it interested me. Until I decided to do the unthinkable - to go to the dragon ring, and release a dragon so that I can train with it, the _right_ way. So, as I finally exited the forest near my house, I made my way to the ring, where I would hope that I wouldn't get eaten, and that I would learn from these dragons.

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><p>I entered the ring, and approached the Monstrous Nightmare's cage, which was the biggest there, and I stared at it, wondering if I should do this or not. But, that was my fear talking, <em>not<em> my determination and bravery, so I pushed my fears aside, and did something that people would call 'illogical'. I opened the Nightmare's cage, and watched as he burst out of the cage, roaring, and splashing fire everywhere. He jumped around the ring for a bit, which put out the flames that surrounded his body, and he stopped on the 'ceiling' of the ring, and looked down at me. His eyes turned to slits, and he _did not_ look happy. I didn't know what to do except to stay calm, and don't do anything stupid. So, as this Nightmare dropped from the ceiling and approached me, I stood there, doing absolutely nothing, waiting to see what this dragon would do.

The Nightmare stopped 3 feet in front of me, and stared at me with slight anger, curiosity, and confusion. I knew that he was confused since I had no weapon or shield on me, and that I was not showing any forms of offense, resistance, or even anger. With that information, he leaned up to me, and sniffed me a good bit, walking around my body before he ended up in front of me again. He looked at me _very_ sharply, then grunted, and walked back into his cage, where he actually _gestured_ for me to _close_ the cage doors. I was baffled that he wanted me to do that, but I did it anyway, not wanting to anger this dragon in any way where it could abruptly end my life.

And so, after I had closed the cage, I walked out of the ring, and headed back towards Berk, where I decided to walk into the Meat Hall. And once inside, I noticed that many vikings were in there, including the Dragon Training class, eating chicken, sheep, or wild boar, since vikings are notorious for eating large sums of meat. I myself like meat, but I prefer fish since it's lighter, and more filling to me than meat. So, I searched for an available seat, but the only available seats left was an empty table. I sighed, since I was sitting by myself. . .again. . . but I quickly got over it, since I was accustomed to eat by myself. Because no one liked to sit by 'Hiccup The Useless', and I have to tell you, I _hated _ that name. I wasn't useless, in fact, I was the _smartest_ person on the island! But, that doesn't matter when people don't see what you see, since they are looking at it from a different standpoint.

So, I took a fish with a cup of water, and sat at the empty table, ignoring the glares that were cast my way from Snotlout and some of the other vikings. I began to eat my baked, or roasted fish, and it tasted a bit different than what I'm used to. It was plain, and didn't have a 'special seasoning' that I put on it, that boosts the flavor of the fish dramatically. The water was clean and fresh, which made me happy, since no one would want to drink dirty disgusting water. Then, when I was halfway done with my fish, I heard Snotlout making fun of me. . .again. He would always compare me to the most ridiculous things, and he would ridicule me for no apparent reason. He always knew how to ignite my fire (anger), but I never wanted to actually fight him, since he was _a lot_ stronger than me_. _So, I always pushed my anger down, and stayed cool and calm, wanting to finish my fish quickly to leave the presence of Snotlout and the others.

And once I left their presence, closing the colossal door behind me, I walked back to my house, still having that Night Fury dominate my thoughts, since he was the only thing I could think about since then. But, as I reached my house, I did not want to go inside, no, I wanted to walk back to the spot where I saw him, the spot just South of Ravenpoint that has changed my way of thinking forever. So, I veered away from my house, and aimed for the forest, intent on reaching my destination. There was no one else around, so I felt safe walking into the forest, knowing that there is _still _a possibility that I could run into that Night Fury. And before I knew it, I was at my destination, and I looked down a the bola that I had snapped with my knife, and immediately felt resentment towards it, since it was used to _harm _dragons.

I sighed exasperatedly, since the Fury was no where to be seen or heard. But as I was about to turn around and walk back home, I heard a loud splash, and then some playful growling. I had no idea what that was, but my curiosity was welling up in me, so I gave in to it, and walked to a nearby cove where the sound emanated. I walked through a large crack in one of its walls, and ducked under a large tree root that connected itself with the two rocks that were separated by this gap, and walked onto a _very_ small rock-face, where I saw the source of the noise. My excitement and happiness blew out of the box when I looked down at the edge of the water, and saw that same exact Night Fury that I saw not even 5 hours ago. . .

It was trying to catch some fish, and occasionally it would fly over the pond, swooping down and attempting to catch fish that were too close to the surface. But every attempt he made, failed, since _these_ pond fish were smart and fast. I felt sympathy for him, and remembered that just before I walked to the Nightmare's cage, I happened to grab a large Cod off of our hanging rack that was underneath our house (That was probably why the Nightmare sniffed me so much). I smiled and my brain sprung an idea, so jumped down the rocks, one by one, and made it to the solid Earth below, not even producing a single loud sound. And once I was on the bottom, I saw him fail again, and I just had to say something.

"Need any help?"

The Night Fury turned around and stared at me, growling warningly, but started to reduce his anger and shock when he recognized who I was. He didn't trust me all that well, but I didn't care. I just had to prove to him that he could trust me, but how? I didn't even know what to do when that Nightmare stared into my eyes back at the ring! But, I had to give it a go, and just. . .see how it turns out. So, I took the Cod out that I got from my house, and said simultaneously,

"Here. You can have my Cod."

The Fury looked at me, and gave me a suspicious, but yet curious look. And after a few moments of scanning me, and sniffing the air a bit, the Fury approached me, and opened his mouth, revealing that he had absolutely no teeth. All I saw was gums, _no _teeth.

"Huh, Toothless. . .I could of sworn that you had-" I wasn't even able to finish my sentence when the Fury snapped the fish out of my hand professionally, where he didn't harm any one of my fingers that were holding the fish, and he gulped it down in two bites.

". . .Teeth." I finished, and I cringed a little when the Fury licked its lips, and looked at me. I knew that I needed him to know that he could trust me, and I already knew that I could trust him, so I reached me hand out towards him, but he growled. I did it again, and he growled a little more severely, and showed some of his teeth. I immediately knew why he was doing that, and after a heavy sigh, I turned my head away from the Fury, and extended my arm out to full length.

I felt warm scales touch my hand, and I cringed from the shock, but looked up at the Fury, who was closing his eyes, and purring with his snout on the palm of my hand. That amazed me, how my enemy could trust me, his sworn enemy, so much, that he would actually let him touch him. That just blew my mind, and in these very short, yet life-savoring moments, I smiled at the Fury, already knowing that I have found a friend. And _right _after I thought that, the Fury released from my hand, and looked at me. He then walked closer to me, sniffing, and I backed up as a natural instinct. I mean, when a dragon, no wait, scratch that, when a _Night Fury _walks closer to you, I'm pretty sure that you will back up too.

"No, no, no. . .I - I don't have anymore." I said instinctively, knowing that the dragon was sniffing for more fish that I _did not _have. My eyes went wide with fear when I realized that I could not back away from this Fury anymore, thanks to a large rock directly behind me. I bumped into it, and saw the Fury _still _approaching me. And once it was at least 1 or 2 feet from my face, it made some kind of happy noise, and pushed it's head into my chest. I had _no _idea _what _to do, since this was _not_ something that I was good at, because I was taught how to _kill_ dragons, not _befriend_ them. So, I thought he wanted me to scratch his neck, so I did, and I obviously took a right guess, since he was now purring, and pushing his head more into my chest. I smiled at him, not even knowing that dragons acted like this.

And after I had stopped scratching his neck, he did the _unthinkable _(in my mind). He picked his head up, looked at me, then gently licked me on the cheek once. That was the rock that broke the ice, because now I knew _without a doubt _that dragons were completely the _opposite _of what we say they are. I smiled at this dragon, and figured out a name for him.

"Toothless." I said to myself, but through some bizarre event, he actually understood why I said that, and he obviously liked that name. He jumped off of me, and began flying in the air at high speeds, until he purposely crashed himself into the small pond in the cove, where he scared the fish, and made large waves for the still pond. I laughed at him, since I couldn't help it, and I saw him flying up and out of the water, in front of me. I smiled at him, knowing that he was obviously excited about that name that I gave him, so I said goodbye, and he flew to the other side of the lake, and was getting ready to sleep. I knew that that was also a good idea for me, since I had barely received _any_ sleep thanks to the dragon raid yesterday.

So, I began to walk home, and on the way home, I smiled at one thing, one thought in my mind that made me feel like. . . I actually mattered in this world. Once I got home, I ignored my dad, who was sitting in front of a large, dancing fire, and walked upstairs to my room, where I dressed into my sleeping clothes, and got into my bed, staring at the ceiling, remembering that one thought that made me feel like I mattered in _somebody's _life.

_"I have a friend, who is supposed to be my enemy. I trust him now, and he trusts me, which is against both of our ways, since our ways entitle us to be enemies forever. And yet, here you see us, trusting each other in that one touch that made the ever so bright light, that lit the path for our friendship."_

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><p><strong>"Chapter 1 is DONE. Please R&amp;R, and as always, I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I did typing it! :)"<strong>

**"Chapter 2 coming up NEXT :)"**


	2. Bonding

**Chapter 2 - Bonding**

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><p><strong>(Hiccup's POV)<strong>

I woke up, stretching, then opening my eyes and rubbing them, trying to get the sleep out of them. I sleepily looked around until I spotted my dresser, and I walked over to it, pulled out my clothes, then slipped them on, and grunted as I had trouble with getting my left arm through the sleeve. I slipped my boots on, and walked down stairs, and into our _very_ small kitchen, where I cooked a fresh Cod that was hanging on the rack, and it supplied me _enough_ food to last a while, so with my stomach somewhat full, I headed out into the village, but froze, and remembered Toothless. I. . .couldn't just _not_ show up today, I mean, what if he's expecting me? But, he's a _Night Fury_ that trusts me and all, but, I mean, why would _he _stay? What use would _I_ bring him?

But, I cast aside all these thoughts, and headed for Toothless' cove, smiling at the fact that I have a _Night Fury_ as a friend. The most powerful and fearsome dragon in the world, and yet, I _befriended _one! Ahh, well it's probably reverse psychology or something, I don't know. . .

But anyways, as I walked into the cove, it was eerily quiet. . .no birds, no rustling leaves, no wind, no water. . . _nothing. That_ scared the Valhalla out of me, but I still didn't care, and I traversed the rocky wall that led to the base of the cove. But once I was on the ground, I didn't see Toothless anywhere. Not underneath a tree, not curled up somewhere, just. . ._nowhere. _At that, my hairs on the back of my head stood up, as all of a sudden, I felt like I was being watched. It was _very _scary, knowing that if I'm being watched by a dragon, I'm dead, since the dragons (except Toothless) don't know that I'm friendly. And yet, as all these thoughts were roaming about in my head, I felt something large pin me to the ground by knocking me over from the back, and spinning me in mid-air where my back faced the ground. And I hit the ground a bit hard, but nothing to complain about.

I could feel claws and scales on my shoulders and neck, and I knew that I was screwed, since this is a definitely a _dragon_, so I didn't even open my eyes to see _what_ dragon it was, I just kept my eyes shut, and rolled my head to the side, waiting for the dragon to end me, but yet, it never did, and to add to that, it was _crooning_ a little bit. I still didn't want to open my eyes, fearing that this dragon was just enticing me to open my eyes so that it could scare the Valhalla out of me before ending my life. But, as I thought that that was going to happen, I felt something warm, fleshy, and slimy roll across my cheek, and up the side of my head. _That _got my attention, and I opened my eyes to see Toothless there, with worried eyes. I don't know why he was worried, but I think that it was because he scared me so badly, he wanted to make sure I was okay or something. I looked at him and gave him a smile, which in turn he got all happy, and started to lick me. I was laughing and trying to get away from his slimy forked tongue, but he held me firmly in place, pinning me by the shoulders.

"Okay Toothless! Okay! Alright!" I was laughing in-between those words, but he got the picture and got off me (thankfully), and I got up wiping the saliva off my face, and as I did so, I looked at him, giving him a smile. He just sat there, staring at me with those big, wide innocent eyes, and that just made me laugh a little, and to add to that, he was smiling a gummy smile. I walked over to him, smiling, and began to scratch behind his ears and on his neck, and he obviously _really_ liked that, since in the middle of it, he froze up, and collapsed. I just smiled at him as he was now a puddle of purrs. And during this, my stomach growled, and I remembered that I needed to get some fish for the two of us, and so I walked over to the side of the pond, and fished for a little while, and in the end, I caught 6 good-sized Cod, and one small one (for me). I smiled at the catch, _knowing_ that Toothless would like this, so I walked over, and set the 6 Cod in front of him, and he snapped up immediately, staring at the fish for a little bit in confusion, but I chuckled as he began wolfing down the Cod whole.

He licked his lips after he was done, and looked at me with those happy, wide eyes, and it made me crack a smile. "You're welcome" I said kindly, chuckling a little as I said it, and I looked at him. seeing him smile back, then get up, and approach me, I still wasn't fond of him doing that, so I backed up against that _same_ stupid rock, and couldn't go anywhere as his face was getting closer to mine, and when he was less than a foot from my face, he gave me a _huge _lick, and that made me chuckle, but also shocked me that he did that twice in less than 30 minutes, actually, _at all._

"Can you stop doing that?" I asked him in a teasing way, and he just looked at me with those innocent eyes, and gummy smile, making me almost burst out laughing, and after I wiped the single tear that was in my eye from me laughing so much, I got up and looked at him, rubbing my neck slightly.

"So. . . .what do . .um. ..you want to do?" Toothless just looked at me, then blasted into the air, randomly chasing a flying duck, then blowing it up with one of his fireballs, and then landing in front of me, smiling deviously. I just looked at him, a bit shocked that he would just randomly kill a duck, but whatever, just a duck. . .probably something that he does when he's bored. And with that, I stood up and looked at him seriously, and asked him,

"Do you want to go flying?" I didn't want to sound forceful or oppressive, so I softened my pitch, and kept my volume down in my voice. And it worked I guess, since Toothless didn't look all that mad. He actually just stood there staring at me, and I knew that it was a bit early asking him this, but I just couldn't wait any longer. But, a few moments later, he was starting to get some emotion back.

His eyes went to slits, and I thought that he was mad at me for a second, but he then got all excited, and pinned me to the ground. . . ._again._ I smiled at him, but told him to get off, knowing where this would lead to, and as he got off, I said "Jeez. U must _really _want me to fly with you". He just smiled at me, and gestured for me to get on his back, and I did so, and at that, he was off into the sky, with me barely hanging on to his shoulders, but sitting straight again when he leveled out _high _above Berk. He whined a little bit at me, probably saying sorry or something, so I replied back with a smile, and in which he returned one also. We flew for most of that day, flying _right _above the water, next to some beautiful mountain caps, and Toothless wanted to be a daredevil/show off, so he bolted through some sharp, and dangerous rocks, avoiding all of them, and doing some tricks _in _them like corkscrews, and loops, which I almost fell off like, 5 times, but it was still invigorating.

We headed off towards the cove when it started to get dark, and I heard some dragons nearby, but I know that they're not stupid enough to attack a Night Fury. We touched down moments later, and I jumped off, and walked around a bit to get the excitement out of my legs while Toothless was getting a drink at the edge of the pond.

"Man! That was awesome! But, priority one, get something that lets me actually _hang on _to you." I said with a _huge _smile on my face, and running around the pond, tiring myself out, and also getting all my excess energy out. I looked over, and I saw Toothless actually _smirking_ at me, like I was an idiot or something, so I just looked at him sternly, and jokingly said, "Shadap." But, he obviously didn't really like jokes, since he growled at me, making me flinch and say that I was just joking. He calmed down a bit after I told him I was just joking, and from then I always knew one thing - _Never_ joke around like _that_ with a dragon, _especially _a Night Fury. I looked at the sky, and knew that I _had _to get home, since it was _very _late right now, and as I was about to climb the rock, I felt a tug at my shirt, and saw Toothless holding on to my shirt with his gums, as if he didn't want me to go, but I reassured him that I would be back, but he still didn't let go. So I smiled at him, and patted him on the head, promising that I would be back, but as I rubbed his nose, he _actually _bit me. Well, not _bit, _more like, gently clamp his mouth around my arm, making me think he was going to eat me or something, but I knew that he wouldn't do that.

"What? What is it?" I asked, wanting to know why he was acting like this, and after I asked him that, he pulled me over to a spot on the ground where he charred, and sat me down right there, and curled around me, covering me with his wing, and placing his head _right _next to mine, then releasing my arm from his mouth, which thanks to him, was now covered it saliva. But, nonetheless, I realized that he didn't want me to leave him. I really don't know why, but I think it had to do with our friendship or something, I just really don't know. So, I drifted off into a deep sleep, surrounded and protected by Toothless, and by the sound of it, he was out also. . .

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><p>I woke up the next day to see Toothless nudging me awake, and I sat up, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, and flinching from the sun's bright rays. But once my eyes adjusted, I looked around, and forgot that last night, I slept here with Toothless, so I got up, and realized that my dad might be upset with me or something, so I decided that I needed to go home. . .<em>now.<em>

But, Toothless obviously had _other _plans, since he grabbed my shirt again, and whined a little. I looked back at him, and saw him looking at me with eyes that said 'Don't go'. I just smiled at him, and told him I'll be back, but he just wouldn't let go, so i came upon a conclusion that I _really _didn't want to come to, but Toothless was just being so stubborn or worried or whatever. . .I decided that he could come with me, but I _sternly _told him that he _could not _be seen by _anyone _except me. He got the picture I hope, since he was nodding his head up and down, and smiling at me after he was done doing that, so I smiled at him, and said, "Alright, Let's go." And we were off. . .

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><p>When we got into the village, I was really re-thinking this whole 'let Toothless come with me' thing, but. . .there was just no other option that I could of made back there, and I <em>had <em>to come back to Berk or else people will get _very _suspicious. So I walked to the Forge, with Toothless following in the shadows, and _thankfully _human eyes are _far _less keen than dragon eyes, so Toothless was blending in _very _well. Anyways, once I got to the Forge, Gobber greeted me and asked me somequestions.

"Hiccup me lad, Where've you been?"

"Hi Gobber. Well, I was out in the forest."

"Are you sure? Me and and your father were a bit worried about ya."

"Gobber, do you see me right now? I'm fine, look, no scratches, gashes, whatever. Nothing."

"Alright, well, go on and get inside the Forge, we have a _big _order to fill today. 10 axes by the end of the day."

"Well, I guess we better get to it then." We worked in the Forge from morning to almost dusk, and once we were finished, Gobber dismissed me, and I walked out to a dark portion of a house where I thought Toothless would be, but he wasn't. I looked around confusingly, until I got tackled and licked a few moments later by him, since he was probably planning this sneak attack the whole time.

"Okay Toothless! Okay! Alright! I get it!" I said with my 'loud' whisper, since I didn't want villagers to wonder what was going on back here. But again, he got off, and I smiled at him, wondering why he even does that, but nonetheless, we had to leave so that there would be far less risk of us being spotted, so I climbed on his neck, and told him to fly back to the cove, and he obliged, flying us back to the cove, but unfortunately, we didn't go _unseen._

I heard a villager yell "Night Fury!", and everyone was running out of their homes with nets and axes and fire and other various weapons, and they were running straight for us, but we had an advantage, since humans can't fly, and we're already in the sky. So, to avoid me and Toothless getting shot down by a lucky villager, I told him to fly faster, and he gladly did so, and before I knew it, we were out of Berk, and landing in the cove. I jumped off Toothless, and glanced at his wings, tail, head, and legs, to be absolutely sure that no viking hurt him. So, with me confirming that he was unharmed, I set up a fire, and caught some decently sized fish, and gave all of them to Toothless, but I kept two for myself to cook over the fire. When I cooked my fish, Toothless always gave me a look, like I was ruining the fish or something, but I think he knows that humans can't eat raw fish, or. . .does he? Ah well, I can't eat raw fish, so I'm not going to.

After we ate, I smothered the fire, and walked over to the other side of the pond to retrieve some of my supplies that I left over there yesterday, but as I was walking around the pond, I heard Toothless growl at something, but I ignored it, since I traced where he was looking at to an empty cliff-edge, so I continued to walk until I was at my woven basket, and sun-beam laser device. And as I was turning around, a fireball wizzed over my head, and exploded on the wall a few feet from me, sending me crashing to my back.

"That is _not _funny Toothless!" I yelled angrily, but as I got up, I saw that I was not his target, for I saw something that was in a battle with Toothless. My heart raced, and I got up, and bolted towards Toothless and his attacker, wanting to end this before there was a fatality. I ran with all my might, and I managed to reach Toothless in time, since he was about to attack with some nasty fireballs, but I stood in the way, making him stand down, but still being ready for anything.

And I focused my attention on the attacker after Toothless calmed down a little. She had blond hair, a headband, an ancestral axe, sheer determination that was in her eyes, and battle clothes. And it was none other than Astrid, and with that, I had a _very _serious situation now. I had to keep Toothless calm, and keep Astrid from attacking Toothless (who is unharmed) anymore.

"Hiccup! What are you doing?" Astrid asked me in a very shocked and angered way, making me flinch a little, but I knew that I had to do something, so I came up with an idea, and I knew that it would work. . .


	3. Astrid

**Chapter 3 - Astrid**

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><p>"Hiccup! Are you crazy? That dragon will <em>kill <em>you!" Astrid screamed at me, thinking that I was lost in my own fantasy, but I already had a reply to that, and it even stumped me. . .

"Well I'm not killed, am I?" The look on her face was shock. She was _not _expecting that, and I could tell she was really trying to find a comeback, but she found none. Her eyes refused to look into mine, fearing that I would know that she was defeated, but she herself, wouldn't allow the painful fact that she was defeated enter her mind or heart. Astrid wasn't a girl that was a fan of defeat. Once, she lost in a battle to Snotlout at arm-wrestling, and she was infuriated. When I walked by her, she glared at me, and then mumbled something about defeat being as low as hell, so I knew it would be a very smart thing to not bug her. And even right now, that story is applying. Astrid, defeated by my comeback, _and _Toothless in their quick battle, was refusing to accept bitter defeat, so she just pushed that fact aside, and looked at me with a glare that was full of anger, shock, and. . .something I've never seen. . .fear.

_But_, as I was looking at her, I had a not-so-calm anymore Toothless behind me, trying to push me away from him, since he wanted to fight Astrid, but I didn't want that to happen, because there are several ways that could turn out, and all those ways are bad. So, I just tried to stand where I was, but it was increasingly difficult as Toothless kept applying more force with every attempt to gently push me away. So, to counter-act this, I just rubbed Toothless' neck gently, making him stop pushing on me, and also calming him down, making the situation easier for me. So, with Toothless calm, and not it attack mode, I focused my attention back on Astrid, who was shocked that I was doing that to Toothless and such, so I thought a little explanation would help.

"Astrid, it looks like you saw a ghost, died, and smothered your face with snow. . .calm down, Toothless isn't going to hurt you. . .*whispers* I hope. . ."

"Calm down? There is a _Night Fury right _in front of me, _you _are acting like a _friend _towards it, and you do realize that you are completely going against the viking way of life, right? And Toothless? You _named _the _dragon Toothless?_"

"Astrid, I don't care that I'm going against the viking's way of life. Everything we know about these guys, is wrong. The viking way of life when It comes to dragons is wrong, and it is wrong for us to fight them, and it is wrong for us to kill them. There's something else out there. . .I can just feel it, and I _know _that it has to be causing this war between us and them. And yes Astrid, I named him Toothless. If I didn't name him Toothless, then I wouldn't call him Toothless."

She just looked at me blankly, as if everything I said impacted her with so much ferocity that it rendered her speechless. . .oh wait, I forgot, that's _exactly _what I was expecting it to do. . .But I knew that words alone would not change her view so quickly, I needed proof that dragons weren't who we thought they were, and to do that, I needed Toothless. _But_, there was a problem. . .Toothless does _not _like Astrid right now, and I'm sure Astrid feels the same way. So, I'm stuck with trying to work something out in my head, a plan that will show Astrid the truth without endangering or angering Toothless.

But, before I could do anything, Astrid starting backing away, glaring at me, then I heard her say three words. _Three_ words that made my blood run cold. . .

"You're so busted." She ran off towards the village, axe in hand, and determination in mind, and I knew that if she went back to the village, either I would lose Toothless, I would be in some serious trouble, or both. . .So, I had to catch her in order to stop her, but I knew that she was much faster than me, so I looked for Toothless, who I thought was still right next to me, but I saw him trotting off to the other side of the pond, curling up. I knew I didn't have much time before Astrid was deep in the woods, so I ran over to Toothless, and told him that we needed to find Astrid, but he just snorted, as if he didn't really care about her. I can't blame him, I mean, she attacked him only minutes ago, but I still needed to catch her before she ruined my secret about Toothless, so I mentioned to Toothless that if she reached Berk, that I would lose him, and when I said that, he un-curled and lied on his stomach, directing me to get onto his unsaddled back, which I felt uncomfortable with, but I would have to get used to it, because last night when I was talking to Toothless about making a saddle for him, he growled, meaning he didn't like that idea, and I probably knew why. He was the son of Lightning and Death, so his pride must be high, and he doesn't want to feel weak or 'controlled'. I really can't blame him with that either, but still. . .

I got uneasily on his back, and he was off into the sky, but this time, I can't explain it, but I knew how to hold onto him correctly. I almost had a black out from the shock that I experienced when I didn't budge when Toothless shot vertical into the air. I wasn't even slipping off a little during that period of time, but I didn't care, I knew how to ride a dragon bear-back now, so that was a. . .triumphant feeling I guess. . . But, once we leveled out, Toothless noticed Astrid running, so he swooped down, and picked her up, then we flew her to a tree that was hanging over a cliff-side, and Toothless dropped her on the lowest branch, and the only thing under her was a 1,200 foot fall to her doom if she let go or something of that nature. . .

Me and Toothless landed on the branch next to her, and I was trying to talk to her, but she told me she didn't want me to talk, so then I extended an invitation to show her that dragons aren't what we think they are. . .that they are actually the exact opposite. She looked at me and raised an eyebrow in question, and I told her to take my hand.

She scoffed, and swatted my hand away, making Toothless warningly growl some, but I reached my hand out to her again, and told her that I would show her what she's missing, and that she and everyone else at Berk was wrong. . .

She glared at me a little, but looked down, saw the drop, and knew that she was yet again defeated, as all of her escapes were cut off, and she only had one choice. So, much to her dismay, she took my hand, and sat behind me on Toothless' neck, causing him to glance up at me with a 'are you _sure _this is a good idea?' look, which I smiled, and patted his head. I looked behind me at Astrid, and told her she might want to hold on to me, and she did so quickly, and at that, Toothless blasted into the sky, flying straight up into the air, towards the clouds, and the view was so magnificent, that the entire village of Berk looked like an ant from way up here, and I could tell Astrid was enjoying this, but I felt something, and glanced at Toothless.

He was enjoying this with me yes, but I could tell he still hadn't forgiven Astrid for what she did, and with us this high, and his mind like that, there's no telling what he could do or would want to do. So, in order to avoid any future crisis's and rivalries between the two, I looked behind me at Astrid, and she smiled at me, but stopped smiling when she saw that I had a serious face on, and I told her she needed to apologize to Toothless.

Toothless' ears perked up when I said that, and he glanced up at me, giving me a little smile, as if he already knew that I was doing or did the right thing, which I know that I was in fact doing the right thing. I knew that apologies were much better than rivalries, since rivalries might lead to bloodshed, and I didn't want to have Astrid's blood on my hands, so I knew that she needed to apologize.

Astrid didn't respond for a few moments, so I told her again, and she snapped at me, telling me she already heard me the first time, and she earned another warning growl from Toothless, this time more severe, causing her to say sorry to me, but I wasn't the one she needed to apoligize to, It was Toothless. But, I knew that this was hard for Astrid, since she has never appologized for basically anything for quite a long time, and making her do so, is like backing her into a corner, she gets drastic, and that may lead to violence, but in _this _situation, she only had one escape yet again, so she took it.

"I-I'm sorry Toothless. . .for. . .attacking you." I never actually thought that she would do it, but she actually had enough courage and strength to do so, and Toothless purred at Astrid, making her hold back a giggle, since I could feel her cup her hand over her mouth, fidgeting slightly to also hold back her body's reaction to holding in the giggle, but I didn't pay it much attention. I was instead focused on Toothless, and the flight.

It was so beautiful and peaceful up here. . . Now I know why dragons like to fly so much, you feel so free, and you feel like your not chained to the ground anymore. . .you feel un-bound, un-restrained, and un-captured. . . The feeling just makes you want to live in the air, floating above the harsh, cold ground, that seemed to have a suction to it, that kept u there, away from the freedom and beauty of the sky. . .

I looked behind me, and the magnificent view was enrapturing Astrid as well. Her eyes were wide, she had a wide smile plastered on her face, and she was even raising or extending her arms to touch the clouds, that felt like mist, a cool, refreshing, and beautiful mist. . . I don't think that she ever knew how great flying was, and how great u felt when u come into the sky, to enjoy it's fruit and gallery of clouds, light, and luminous or bloom effects that hung in the sky day and night for all to see it's artistic beauty and creation.

So, as we glided through the seemingly endless sky, I heard Astrid say something that I never expected her to say, and I think that she wasn't expecting herself to say this either. . .

"Hiccup?"

"Yeah Astrid?"

"Where'd you find him?"

"Find who? You mean Toothless?"

"Yes. . .him."

"Oh, well. . uh, I found him south of Ravenpoint after I. . .shot him down."

"Oh. . .well, I was just wondering where you guys met, and also. . . I just wanted to say thanks."

"Thanks for what Astrid?"

"Thanks for showing me Toothless, thanks for the gift of flight, and thanks for showing me the truth about dragons."

"Oh, well. . .your welcome Astrid. Heh."

"This is just. . .amazing. . .He's amazing." She patted Toothless' neck slightly, making him glance back at her, purring a little in response to that, and making me smile, knowing that she now knows the truth. . . But I still had one question running through my head. . .

_What was causing these dragons to attack us and steal our food?_

. . .and I found out soon enough. . .

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><p>We were flying for about an hour or so, and we were all enjoying ourselves. Toothless wasn't angry with Astrid anymore, and that made me happy, since that might of caused some future problems, but it's over and done, so I just let the past be the past. . .<p>

Astrid and I were cracking jokes about some vikings in Berk that did some stupid stuff on accident or on purpose, and we would start laughing, and I think Toothless was laughing too, I really couldn't tell. But anyway, we were gently gliding in the air, and I was looking at the view while Astrid was talking to me, and Toothless was keeping steady. . .until. . .

One moment Toothless is smiling, and flying peacefully through the air, and the next moment, we are being taken for a ride after Toothless' ears perk up, and he makes a grunt noise or something. I didn't know what was going on, so I asked him what's wrong, and placed a hand on his head, and he shook it off, grunting. I looked around and saw more than 50 dragons of all shapes, species, colors, and types flying in the same direction we were headed, but all of them had food of some sort: Sheep, goat, deer, fish, cow, chicken, you name it, they had it. I was wondering what they were doing with so much food, but before I could answer my own question, I looked ahead, and saw a rocky, misty, and volcanic island that we were headed for.

I wasn't all _that _nervous until Toothless was dodging all the rocky pillars and arcs that laced the outskirts of the island, but once we were done going through the maze of sharp and deadly rocks, we headed straight for a large hole on the side of the mountain, and so did all the other dragons that were around us. I didn't know what what was going on, I was just as confused as Astrid was, and I looked back at her, and she looked at me with fear and confusion, and I just nodded that I felt the same way.

I looked forwards again, and when I did, Toothless flew into a large opening in the mountain, and the entire inside was a deep red color, and all the dragons were dropping their food into the hole in the middle of it, and I thought that they were wasting out food, so that made me feel _so _great. But I looked on, and more and more dragons dropped their food into the hole, making me think they were wasting more of our food, and before I could say anything to Astrid, Toothless flew up to a pillar, and hid behind a rock, secluding himself, and looking at the hole in the middle of the opening. I didn't know what was happening, but apparently he did.

I heard a buzzing noise, and saw a Gronkle flying in with no food in his paws or teeth, but once he flew over the hole, he spat up a fish that was in his mouth, and started to scratch his right head with his back paw, much like a dog, but there was a rumbling sound, and the Gronkle perked up, and started flying up and away from the pit, but then something happened. . .I was _not_ even expecting this, like I wasn't expecting any of this. . .

A _huge _dragon or monster, or whatever you want to call it came up out of the pit, and clamped it mouth around the Gronkle, swallowing and eating it. Me and Astrid were both shocked and scared of the dragon's sheer size, and we knew why the dragons brought so much food, to feed her or him or it. But I managed to not freak out, but I wanted to when the dragon started to sniff the air, and I knew that it had acquired our scent, and was about to attack us, so I told Toothless that he needed to go _now_, and he happily obliged, and we took off from that spot moments before the dragon snapped at us and missed. I thought that we were safe, but something happened next that would haunt me my Nightmares. . .

The big dragon launched fire at us, missed, but it a dragon in front of us, knocking it off balance, and sending ti crashing into us, and consequently, I was knocked off Toothless' back, but somehow Astrid managed to stay on. But the only thing I could see what the big dragon's mouth approaching. I thought that I was going to die, but Toothless swooped down, and grabbed me, and flew out of the cave. I was so thankful for Toothless doing that, because I didn't want to die, and he saved my life.

So, once he set me down and landed, I ran up to him, and gave him a big hug on his neck, making him purr. I told him that I was very thankful for doing that, and he purred more, and once I let go of him, he licked me on the face, making me chuckle, and making Astrid want to giggle. I sat down, and Toothless lied down in front of me, putting his head in my lap, purring. I knew that Toothless loved to have his head, neck, or chin rubbed/scratched, so I started to gently rub his neck, making him purr more, and push his head into my hand, obviously wanting me to continue. I always chuckled when he did that, because he was so playful during these moments, so after I stopped, I quickly got up, to avoid being pinned, and I turned my attention to Astrid who was now sitting on a flat rock that overlooked the sea and rocky outskirts of the island.

I thought she was upset, but she was actually absorbing everything that has happened today. Even I was absorbing what just happened, but I wasn't focused on it right now, I was instead focused on her, so I sat down next to her, and asked her what's wrong.

"What's up Astrid?"

"Hiccup. . .I know now, that these dragons have to be controlled by that big dragon, but now, I'm wondering. . .what will happen to Berk now? There's no way that any vikings can defeat _this _dragon. . ."

"Well Astrid, first thing's first. . .we need to get back to Berk before we jump into anything else."

"You're right." I smiled at her, and helped her up on Toothless' neck, and we were in the air moments later.

I couldn't stop thinking about how we were going to take down such a massive dragon. I mean, It would take so much firepower to even put a _dent _ in that thing, but I had to get my mind off of that right now, since Berk was fast approaching. . .

I could feel Astrid holding on to me, and that made me feel great, and I have Toothless to thank for that. Can u believe that? A _dragon _helped me get the girl of my dreams. She's been pushing me aside and ignoring me this whole time, but when Toothless stepped in, she now respected me and such. So, dragons are great friends to have around. . . specially if it's getting a date. . .heh

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><p>We landed not to long after, and she was talking about taking this matter to my dad, but I knew that that would be a bad idea, since my dad and the vikings would try to kill Toothless, and he was my biggest concern. Because if I lost Toothless, I would probably lose the will to live, since he was a pretty big part of my life, and I didn't want to lose that. So I needed to come up with a plan that kept me and Toothless safe, but also showed Berk the truth about dragons, and that they were wrong.<p>

"Astrid wait. . my dad will _kill _Toothless. We. . need another plan."

"Hiccup we finally discovered what's making the dragons do this, and you want to keep it a _secret?_ To protect you pet dragon? Are you serious?"

"Yes." What I saw in her eyes was shock. She was not expecting me to say that I think, but I knew she knew why i didn't want to do this. She saw that Toothless was a large part of my life, and if I lost him, I would be lost, and that I would do anything and everything in my power to protect him. Now, I know what you're thinking, _"Come on, a Night Fury needing protection?"_, but I know that when it comes to vikings, they will stop at nothing to try and kill Toothless, and I did not want that happening. And I was happy that Astrid understood this.

"Well then. . what do we do?" I didn't honestly know how to answer that question, so I just had to tell her I needed more time.

"Just. .give me until tomorrow, I'll figure something out. . ."

"Okay." She turned around, and started to run off, but stopped, and looked at me, making me question what she was thinking. Because, Astrid doesn't act like this, she usually punches me on the shoulder, or leaves without saying a word or turning around to make eye contact, but this time, she went against both. Astrid was truly a unique person. She would always surprise everyone with her talent at fightning, and she had a knack for turning the tides of the battle to her favor, which is why she always came out on top, but, she did that by scanning her opponents, looking for openings, and waiting for the right moment to strike. She used alot of strategy when it came to that. She was just like me sort of, but her intelligence was in the battlefield, and mine was in engineering and science.

"Hiccup. . .I have a question for you."

"Yeah?"

"If we convert Berk to the truth, will we all get dragons?" I looked at her for a second, pondering what she just said, and gave her a definite answer.

"Astrid, I don't know. . .First, we need to focus on Berk knowing the truth, _then _we'll focus on things like that."

"Okay. see you tomorrow."

"See ya." And at that, she was off. I knew that she knew the truth about dragons, and that made me smile a bit. And while I looked at her run off, Toothless came up next to me, and smiles at me, and I smiled back, but I knew why he was smiling, and I rolled my eyes, playfully pushing his head away, making him purr a lil.

After all that, I walked over to a rock, and sat down, trying to figure out what I was going to do, but the more I thought about what to do, then more I couldn't figure anything out, until Toothless came next to me, nuzzling my side, and making me chuckle. But, him doing that gave me an idea, and I came up with a seemingly fool-proof plan that I was pretty sure would work. So, with this plan that I hoped would work, now implanted in my thoughts, I set up a fire, and caught some fish, while Toothless caught his somewhere else.

I settled down next to the fire to absorb it's warmth, and my mouth watered when I heard my fish making it's 'popping' sound once it was cooked completely. I started eating it, then smiled at Toothless, who had just landed, and chuckles when he walked behind me, and laid down behind me, allowing me to lean against his wing, and I smiled at him, earning a toothless smile back, almost making me laugh. . .

It was peaceful that night, and I liked it. . .the crickets chirping, the waterfall gently rumbling, and Toothless breathing. . . it was all so peaceful, and as I leaned against Toothless as I was about to sleep, I smiled at one thing. . .

Astrid was now in the light, and she embraced it without any doubts. She knew the truth, and she was not blinded anymore by Berk's lies. But, you really can't blame Berk for this, since they don't know that they'res a monster out there controlling these dragons to get food for it, so they think that dragons are attacking them just to steal their food for themselves.

And as I was thinking of this, I felt something go over my chest, and I slightly cracked my left eye to see Toothless' tail on my chest, and I smiled at that, and closed my eyes, enjoying the peace of the cove, and the warmth of the fire, and Toothless. I knew that I would have in impossible task ahead of showing Berk the truth, but I didn't want to focus on that, I wanted to focus on the here and now, and just relax, and think about the peace that was now starting to make me drift off. And I thought about Astrid, and her having her own dragon, and I thought about Berk ending the war with the dragons, and us having a long period of peace and harmony with them, and I could feel myself going away from reality, until I was in a deep, peaceful sleep. . .

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><p><strong>"Okay! Chapter 3 is DONE. . .teh <strong>

**Chapter 4 coming up next! XD**

**And, as always, please R&R XD"**


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